Steven Gardiner stepped down to the men’s 200 meters (m) in Diamond League action yesterday, faced a world-class field, and still finished in the top three.
Running out of lane seven, he found himself significantly behind the leading duo and in about fifth or sixth coming off the curve, but the towering Bahamian turned it on, on the home stretch and glided to an impressive time. He finished in 20.11 seconds, finishing third in just his second 200m race of the season. In the other, he ran 20.24 seconds.
The Athletissima Diamond League Meet at the Stade olympique de la Pontaise in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Thursday, was the ninth stop on the prestigious tour this season and the first European stop after the completion of the Olympic Games.
Gardiner finished behind the American duo of Kenny Bednarek and Fred Kerley – the silver medalists in the short sprints at the Tokyo Olympic Games.
Bednarek, who was second in the men’s 200m in Tokyo, ran 19.65 seconds for the win yesterday. Kerley, the Olympic 100m silver medalist, was timed in 19.77. Gardiner was a distant third, but was able to gain some valuable points for the Diamond League Final, the Weltklasse Zürich, set to take place over two days, September 8-9, in Zürich, Switzerland.
Gardiner is in ninth place in the men’s 200m with six points, and is yet to run in his specialty, the men’s 400m, on the Diamond League circuit for 2021. Just the top eight in each discipline qualify for the final. The 25-year-old Bahamian World and Olympic Champion is still aiming for his first Diamond League title.
Just three weeks ago, Gardiner stamped his authority on the men’s 400m, winning his second consecutive global title outdoors. He clocked his second-fastest time ever, running 43.85 seconds for the 400m title at the Tokyo Olympic Games. Two years ago, he ran a national record time of 43.48 seconds for the world title in Doha, Qatar, making him the sixth-fastest in history.
The women’s 100m was the featured race in Lausanne yesterday, as it once again featured the three Olympic medalists from Tokyo, all from Jamaica.
This time, it would be Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce sprinting to victory, taking down Olympic Champion Elaine Thompson-Herah. Fraser-Pryce won in a personal best meet record time of 10.60 seconds. Thompson-Herah finished second in 10.64. Shericka Jackson was once again third, this time finishing in 10.92 seconds.
Marie-Josée Ta Lou, of the Ivory Coast, was fourth again, just like she was for the Olympic final, running 10.94 seconds. Daryll Neita, of Great Britain, and Ajla Del Ponte, of Switzerland, made it six ladies under 11 seconds as they finished in 10.96 and 10.97 seconds respectively. The 10.96 time matched a personal best run for Neita.
Mujinga Kambundji, of Switzerland, clocked 11.01 seconds, and Alexandra Burghardt, of Germany, rounded out the field in 11.12 seconds. Six of the eight ladies, including all three Jamaicans, are scheduled to be in action again, in that event, at the Meeting de Paris Diamond League event at the Stade Sébastien Charléty in Paris, France, on Saturday.
The only two from Lausanne not entered are Ta Lou and Burghardt, and taking their place will be Brit Dina Asher-Smith who has a season’s best of 10.91 seconds and personal best of 10.83 seconds, and Jamaican Natasha Morrison who has a personal best time of 10.87 seconds that she ran this year.
There are just two Diamond League stops remaining before the Diamond League Final, the Weltklasse Zürich, at Letzigrund Stadium in Zürich, Switzerland, September 8-9.
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source https://thenassauguardian.com/gardiner-finishes-third-in-mens-200m/
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